Backcountry skiing in Serre Chevalier – believing all is not lost!

I spent last week checking out Serre Chevalier ski area and, as I mentioned in my blog yesterday, off piste conditions were a little crusty due to recent wind and warm sun. Piste conditions, on the other hand, were exceptional throughout the week.

The only dampener for the trip was Tuesday morning. Winds were extremely high and resulted in most of the resort closing down. We spent the morning on a wild goose chase, trying to find a lift that would allow us to at least get a couple of runs in. By lunchtime we were feeling a little disheartened, we really hadn’t had any luck. The most we had managed was a slide down a sketchy windswept green cat-track.

But then we got a call from Christian, Nonstop’s course host and instructor in Serre Chevalier, and suddenly we were given a slither of hope.

In search of greater things

Christian was optimistic about our chances of getting some good riding in that afternoon, and in untouched powder no less! To me it sounded crazy, everything seemed closed and the off piste conditions I’d seen looked a little ropey. However, local knowledge goes a long way! Christian drove me, four of my companions and few other ski and snowboard instructor from Ski Connections to the far end of the resort, where there was a string of three adjoining lifts still running.

Christian had warned us all that there would be a fair amount of hiking involved and that those of us on snowboards would have to deal with a difficult traverse, but we were all prepared to take the rough with the smooth when powder was promised!

One of the less wind-swept hikes

As we ascended the final lift, Christian pointed out our first hike up a windswept ridgeline. The wispy white streaks blowing off the ridge was a pre-warning for the challenge that lay ahead!

Christian unclipped his skis and lead the way, with us following in single file behind. I was massively impressed with the sure footing of his ski boots. I followed behind with far grippier snowboard boots but managed to slip on the icy windswept boot-pack several times. Although the fall on each side of the ridge-line was by no means deadly, I really didn’t want to go down there, it would have resulted in a slide to a pretty awkward area to get out of. The wind smashed into the right side of our bodies every 30 seconds or so, and after being unbalanced by its ferocity a couple of times, we all got in the habit of hitting the deck every time it came in full force, apart from our guides of course, they were clearly machines.

After around twenty minutes of hard and tense hiking, we all collapsed near the peak of the ridge. Although our faces were frozen by the wind, we had all built up quite a sweat! Lying to our right was the first of our traverses. Christian led the way and, once at the other side, called our other guide Ben to let him know that it got pretty icey towards the end of the traverse and that it might be a challenge for the snowboarders. From where I was sitting it didn’t look too bad, but “icy traverse” is enough to send shivers down the spine of any snowboarder!

As I headed across the first part of the traverse I managed to hold my heal edge pretty well and followed Christain’s path with relative ease, but inevitably managed to slip below it towards the end. I noticed that I could traverse past the ice a little longer to a powder area that would allow me to hike back up to Christian safely. However as soon as I touched the powder area with my edge, I realised I’d been duped by the mountain. It was actually sheet ice disguised as powder (obviously baked hard by the sun and frozen by the wind). I unclipped one foot, in the hope that I would be able to punch my foot through the icey top-layer, but I instantly realised that I’d made a mistake as my foot slipped as soon as it touched the ice. As I looked around to take in the situation I realised that the only thing stopping me from sliding a long way down the hill was my heal edge... that now only had the strength of one foot to secure it. Looking back to my right I noticed that I was being followed by my partner Becky. I screamed at her to stop, but my voice was lost in the wind. Thankfully Christian had noticed what was going on and managed to reach Becky just as her edge slipped from underneath her. Christian thrust out his pole just in time for her to grab it and he managed to take her whole weight and stop her from slipping away. I sat there very impressed with the way that Christian had handled the situation and impressed that Becky managed to not get freaked out by it, but really wished that I had a ski pole to grab as well! After a bit of flapping, I managed to get my right foot back into my bindings and traverse a little further to a safer place.

Snowboarders hashing up the powder bowl traverse

We took the hikes and traverses that followed a little more cautiously. I made sure of every foot that I put down as I’d had the wind put up me a little. The next traverse was across a powder bowl (real powder this time) which in turn has its own dangers. Although the risk of avalanche was low, it was still the sort of area that you wouldn’t want to spend too much time getting across and we tackled it one at a time. As standard, the snowboarders made bit of a pigs ear of getting across, but it was encouraging to see that the two snowboard instructors that joined us slipped from the skiers line and had to hike out along with the rest of us.

After being rattled on the first climb and traverse, later climbs were taken a little more cautiously... unless you're a guide...

Anyway, enough of the hard stuff. After all of the traversing and hiking we were treated with a beautiful view across the valley that marked the start of the fun bit! Before hitting the tree line the snow was still a little crusty, but before long we rode into a hidden sheltered oasis. We entered a forest with perfectly spaced trees and untouched soft snow. It was hard to believe that such amazing snow could be available with the recent weather, but mother nature is a curious maiden.

We were rewarded with spectacular views of the valley

The run continued for a good 25mins. In a forest it’s always hard keeping a large group together, but Ben, Christian and the other instructors did a fine job of herding us up. At one point I went astray a little and found myself faced with the most mouthwatering section of forest, a little steeper than the rest. I so wanted to draw my solo line through the trees, but I was called back across with a distant shout from Ben on my left. Apparently it lead to a cliff, which shows that you should always listen to your guide!

Dan enjoying a powder turn shortly before smashing himself into a tree

By the time I rejoined the group it appeared that we’d had a casualty. A friend of mine, Dan, had ridden through a gap between trees and hadn’t spotted a smaller tree behind. Christian had a birds-eye view of the incident and, later in the bar, he recounted how horrific the collision looked. His board went on one side of the tree and his body the other, as Dan took the impact full-on in the midsection and was sent spinning away from the tree. Apparently the first thing that flashed into Christian's mind was how we were going to get a helicopter into the middle of a forest! Thankfully Dan’s pretty rubbery; he just brushed himself off and carried on riding. Although he was a little sore, it really didn’t get in the way of the rest of the trip. Way to man-up Dan!... I don’t think he appreciated my advice to “look at the gap between the trees in future”...

The perfectly spaced tree run

After a great run we suddenly hit civilisation again as we popped out onto a piste, close to the base of Villeneuve. After dumping avo packs we went to exchange stories over a few pints at Mojos. It goes to show, even when you think that all is lost for the day, with a bit of perseverance you can have a blinder. Of course a bit of local knowledge helps a lot!